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Tag: Vikas Mehta

  • Reliance and Jiomart have a new series of ads as also a surfeit of fans and AC advertising, notes Vikas Mehta

    Dhan Dhana Dhan v/s Tak Dhina Din

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaAs my regular readers will recall, last week I had written about the ads seen on the Hotstar app. I am really grateful to one of my readers, Aniruddh Naik, who pointed out that Hotstar now has four different feeds, based on age, population demographics etc which would mean that different viewers would see different ads. So, that sorted out the confusion with my students at the campus where I was based, since not only our ages differed but I had logged in through my base city which was different from where the campus was located and thus we were seeing different ads at the same time.

     

    Now that I am back to watching the general feed on TV, the first thing I saw was that the Reliance group was back and that too with a bang. Not only were the Jio, dhan dhana dhan ads back, but Jiomart had a new series of ads based on tak dhina din. So, what’s the Reliance obsession with musical tunes as lyrics? And the frenzied dances? And Jio with three players per franchise doing the matka and the jhatkas? They have no doubt got a good placement strategy of getting the Jio logo on lead arm of most teams, but the ads are without much substance or content and eminently forgettable. Some semblance of connect has been tried this time with a line which talks about har dil ka connection, but the connection is not about a line. It has to do with the narrative or storytelling. That sadly, is still missing. The Jiomart ad has tried some connect with the use of various phrases which end with tak, but that’s the cue to break off into song and dance, mindlessly. It almost looks like a contest of absurdity between Tak Dhina Din vs Dhan dhana dhan.

     

     

     

    I was also intrigued by the ads of UPI players or should I call them FinTech companies), Paytm, Amazon Pay and PhonePe. Paytm has used humour to convey a very basic premise of paying directly into someone’s bank account. It’s a category premise and is interesting. But isn’t it a few years late? I mean, if more than five billion transactions were recorded in India through UPI in March this year, is there a need to sell the generic benefit of UPI now? From that perspective, if you see the Amazon Pay ads which highlight how the app can be used to make various payments like rent, bills etc, these are adding value to the brand and showcasing its versatility. PhonePe too is doing the same using Aamir Khan and Alia to highlight two wheeler insurance through the PhonePe ads. Paytm is a more complete fintech player with varied offerings and yet it’s the other two brands which come across as more versatile. Or am I missing a trick here?

     

     

    The new Meesho ads caught my eye too. Just when I was wondering why is Meesho called a social commerce platform and not e-commerce, specially, given the earlier ads during IPL where it promoted basic e-commerce features like photo search and payment on delivery, it is now using the IPL team Gujarat Titans to endorse the brand. From just being a reseller platform, where people signed up and circulated their product catalogues or product information through Whatsapp groups or Instagram, while Meesho facilitated payment and delivery for a commission, the platform is now using its base of two and three tier cities consumers to compete against the e-commerce biggies. And it is using IPL to signal its transformation. It seems four teams, GT, MI, RCB and RR are the online shopping partners for Meesho.

     

     

    The temperatures are rising not only in the country but in the IPL too. What with the two new teams, GT and LSG comfortably placed to qualify for the playoffs and the two most valuable and fancied teams, CSK and MI licking their wounds at the bottom of the table; we are also seeing a surfeit of fan and AC advertising. From Godrej to Panasonic to Voltas to Blue Star to Lloyds to Kelvinator to Onida. From Crompton to Havell. But please do not ask me to differentiate amongst them. From Virat Kohli to Ayushman Khurana. From invertor technology to double inverter technology. From pollution-breaking ions to eco-friendly. From low bills to cooling in high temperatures. All bases have been covered. But no brand has been able to differentiate or even stand out. I guess for me Havell fans will do. I need protection from local warming. And for the CSK & MI fans? I can only wish. Hawa Badlegi….zaroor badlegi.

     

  • Continuing with his series of reviews of #AdsonIPL, Vikas Mehta checks the ads streamed on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar

    IPL ads through the lens of Hotstar

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI am currently travelling and based at a university campus in Telangana. The access to screen is mostly through mobile and as such have been watching IPL on Disney+ Hotstar. Trust me it is a very different experience. Or should I say unusual.On Star Sports the ad breaks seem to be rushed, many a times in a hurry to squeeze in as many ads as possible, the ads have to be rudely interrupted, as the game has resumed. Indeed, sometimes one gets a feeling that we are watching an ad programme with bits and pieces of cricket thrown in. But Hotstar being a subscription-based service, its dependence on advertising revenue is low. So, there are fewer ads and these are not crammed in. Quite, unusual.

     

    But what set me thinking were the types of ads on Hotstar. I was expecting some very different ads. Aimed at the GenZ. The young, mobile generation. In reality, most of the ads were the same that ran on Star Sports, signalling some combined deal or rate.  And a few exclusive ones that I saw were surprisingly targeting a very different consumer segment than what I imagined.

     

    Take, for example, the ad for Samsung curd maestro. No, it’s not a new gizmo launched by Samsung but a refrigerator which has a separate compartment to make fresh curd or dahi. The product is not new, it has been around for some time and I do think that it is a great innovation for our country as curd is a part of our staple diet. Curd making usually requires warm temperature and then we love the curd which is thick and set, not the loose wobbly type. So a fridge which actually makes the curd and let it set, is a welcome feature. But, should it be on Hotstar? Shouldn’t it be on Star TV for a better reach? Or is it targeting the working woman, a millennial, as the ad depicts? Or indeed, it could be targeting the working millennial men. After all, they are being exhorted to share the load.

     

    Then I saw the ad for New Samsung Galaxy S phone. A right fit for the people watching IPL on Hotstar. Maybe, Samsung did a corporate deal with Hotstar and is now distributing the time available to various brands. Not just about the right choice but complying with a good deal.

     

    Then there was the Garnier Hair Colour ad. That too seemed a misfit for Hotstar in my mind. Okay, okay. I do get it that the modern, contemporary lifestyle is making many youngsters get white hair very early, but will a larger segment buying hair colour solution not be watching the match on Star Sports? The ad definitely, given its casting is talking to the millennials.

     

    When I look at both, Garnier and Curd Maestro, another plausible theory comes into mind. As said earlier, Hotstar being a subscription channel, could be selling ad inventory at a lower price and that is encouraging brands, who may be using the platform to address a small or niche segment.

     

    In my mind, there are two bigger or fundamental questions. One: Is OTT a distinct channel with its own dedicated base? Even when at home, an event like IPL, is it watched through OTT or DTH/cable? Irrespective of whether it is watched on big or small screen. How many viewers who subscribe to Hotstar also have DTH connection at home? What is the duplication factor?

     

    Two: Is screen viewing becoming a more individual pursuit? GenZ, even though they are at home and have a DTH connection prefer to watch it on their individual small screens (laptops or mobiles) and the millennials watch it on TV, with friends or families? My dipstick evidence shows that with GenZ, watching sports is becoming an individual pursuit but interestingly, while they do watch alone, they are furiously chatting away with each other, exchanging views, developing memes etc. Normal social behaviour, but in a virtual world.

     

    The one ad that I saw on Hotstar and did not see or maybe missed on Star Sports was that for Slice Credit card. Now I had never heard about this brand except, if my memory serves me right, I see them as the new shirt sponsor for Mumbai Indians. Its benefit is to slice the slow and it is for the fast ones. It has an animated/ cartoon execution but it left me in a daze. Maybe I am too slow for it or out of touch with reality but it looked like an ad which may inspire the GenZ. Are credit cards seriously targeting GenZ? But after a product like Cred, whose purpose is to pay my credit card bills and then reward me for doing so, while surreptitiously collecting all my purchase behaviour data, I can imagine not just a product like Spice Credit Card but also its ads. And the only thing usual, or is it unusual, is its association with MI who have very unusually, or is it becoming usual for them, lost a record eight matches in a row.

     

    Two weeks ago, I had written about how the Tata Neu app showed me a message that Big Basket is not delivering to my area, whereas in reality I have been using BB since some time. I am happy to say that the app seemed to have recovered some ground as this morning I got a message that I have received some Neu coins when I shopped through Big Basket app. The Neu family seems to be coming together.

     

  • Vikas Mehta turns his weekly spotlight on Dream 11, Cred, Swiggy Instamart, Fogg, the AC ads and the ad we though Mr B had shunned

    A Dream Turning Predictable

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaThe IPL is becoming predictable now. Mumbai Indians have lost another match, their sixth loss in a row. Sunrisers Hyderabad have won another match, their fourth win in a row. SKY Yadav and Dinesh Karthik continue to score consistently, at a good clip, though one is doing consistently for a losing cause and the other for a winning cause. Y Chahal and T Natarajan continue to take wickets, while J Unadkat and T Mills continue to be carted around.

     

    And the same is true for the IPL ads. Most of them are predictable and their repetitiveness is also irritating. Cred has some interesting takes on Nirma’s Deepikaji, Antakshari’s Anu Kapoor as well as Vick’s Action 500 haan bhai haan. I also think the ads are taking off on the concept of hammering in the brand name, in this case Cred bounty, as was the case in the 70s. But for someone watching the IPL almost on a daily basis, the repetitiveness of the ad is grating.

     

    Sadly, the same is seeming to be true for the Dream 11 ads. The concept of one doesn’t dream alone has become too trite. Starting with Rohit Sharma, Pant; now with Ashwin, Hardik and Dhawan joining the bandwagon, the only thing new is to guess who could be that benefactor. It also seems a bit unbelievable that all these stars met these unknown good men. The question that comes to my mind is where are these people now? Did the stars look for them? Did they help them out? Or is it just a figment of imagination? Will we see some follow up ads? Or will this be forgotten after a few days?

     

    Last evening, CSK predictably lost once again. And breaking the predictable trend are series of ads for two brands. One, is Swiggy Instamart. I am not getting into the debate of the righteousness of 10-20 minutes delivery and the risk it involves for the delivery staff, for I think the better debate would be if we need such quick deliveries. But the brand has illustrated the promise of fast delivery without getting into the exactitude of time, brilliantly. Be it the husband who is planning to watch matches with his friends while the wife is away or the husband who has an excuse to eat junk food but the quick arrival of healthy vegetables and fruits thwart the plan. Or indeed the ad where a friend refuses to share a packet of chips with his friend as another packet arrives almost instantaneously.

     

    The second is the series of Fogg ads. Initially, I almost missed them. Interestingly, the brand is targeting men without actually featuring any men in the ad. It’s from the viewpoint of the opposite sex who find certain men very irresistible but balk when they are told that these men do not use any deo. With market penetration of deos in India as low as 15-20%, it’s no wonder that the market leader has taken up the task of increasing penetration as it will benefit the leader. And what better way to do that than by showing that women are not too sure about men who do not use deos. It may well fall into the Dream 11 trap of predictability but currently I am enjoying the women viewpoint.

     

    With summer at its peak, AC advertising is also at its peak. But, I am not finding any distinct piece of communication. Panasonic, Voltas, Blue Star, Godrej, BPL, Kelvinator are repeating the same old benefits of pure air, efficient cooling in high temperature, less electricity consumption. So predictable that my head cannot distinguish one brand from the other.

     

    Did I mention BPL and Kelvinator? Well, these old brands seemed to have resurfaced. I thought they belonged to history. But looks like they still have some signs of life. The question is, who are these brands talking to. The elderly millennial who had seen the brands in their childhood and can indulge in nostalgia? Or the younger millennial, for whom the brand is as good as a new unknown brand? Selling durables is not child’s play as it means investment not only in new technology but also in distribution and after sales service. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out. Kelvinator also has an ad for refrigerators and no, it’s not about the coolest one. Didn’t get it? I guess you are not an older millennial!

     

    Interestingly, while Mr Bachchan claimed to have been unaware of the surrogate nature of the Kamla Pasand ad that he did along with Ranveer Singh and had reportedly returned the advertisers cheque, he continues to appear in its ads in various avtaars. I hope, for his sake that the returned cheque was returned back to him. Or it was a PR gimmick hand in glove with the advertiser? Definitely unpredictable. Unlike the Vimal ad, where predictably a third star, Akshay Kumar, has joined the other two, Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan in London. Will a fourth one join soon? Can you predict who will it be?

     

  • Vikas Mehta is delighted to see advertising taglines validated by research in his comment on the Pepsi, Slice and other #AdsOnIPL

    Pepsi, Tata Neu & Jio. Business as unusual?

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaHow hardwired we have become to sensation. It’s not a rhetorical question but an emphatic statement. This IPL, everyone is talking about CSK and Mumbai Indians. Not because they are doing well but because both these teams, who, between them have won 9 out of 15 trophies, have lost their first four matches. We are not celebrating that a new team Gujarat Titans hasn’t lost a match yet. We are not celebrating that a forgotten hero, Kuldeep Yadav, has risen again to become the leading wicket-taker. We are glossing over the spunk shown by newcomers Anuj Rawat or Abhishek Sharma against the same two teams. It’s business as “unusual”, I say.

     

    And then one comes across the Tata Neu ads. After a nice round of teasers which raised expectations of a great product, I am confused about this Tata Neu Pass. It’s all in the family. What’s Neu Pass? What’s all in the family? Whose family? Tata family? The only thing that made sense to me was the advice to download the app. Which I did. Now mind you, I am a Big Basket consumer. So, I think the app was smart enough to recognise me and my location after I keyed in my mobile number. But then it sent me another message. That it is not yet available at my location. Well, who wants to argue with a Super App.  I, therefore immediately clicked on the Big Basket app, worried, that I may have been ejected from the BB platform. Thankfully, I could order my groceries on BB as usual. I then tried some apparel and when I clicked on a product, I immediately got an email from Tata Cliq saying that it has created an account for me. Err! Why? Can’t I just shop from the app and check out? I did not bother to find out and with the temperature rising outside, I did not want my temperature to rise too.

     

    Temperature of course reminded me about the new Pepsi ad. More Fizz, More refreshing. Formula change? Something new? And then I thought I saw an asterisk at the end of the baseline. I promptly checked the ad on YouTube again and discovered that both Fizz and Refreshing had asterisk and the explanation was that some research done by an independent body in Jaipur and Lucknow determined that Pepsi had more fizz and another research conducted in Mumbai, Jaipur and Lucknow determined that Pepsi was more refreshing. So, I have lived to see the day when taglines have to be validated by research. And we wonder why the advertising model is crumbling.

     

    Having ditched the thought of having Pepsi and given that fresh mangoes are available in market, I decided to try Slice. The image of Aamsutra with Katrina was still in my mind. But I did a double-take when I saw the new Slice ad with Katrina. It was a taste challenge. And it again quoted some research which said that 73% people voted Slice to be the most thick. Ahem! Is PepsiCo the parent company of Pepsi and Slice using the US Pepsi taste challenge of the 70s as a blueprint for its brands in India? For the uninitiated, Pepsi did some live taste challenges in the US, asking people to rate two unmarked Colas on whose taste is better. Majority favoured Pepsi, though lot of statisticians debunked the research as a sweeter drink will always win on one sip taste challenge. But that’s another story. Will PepsiCo India now launch 7Up too based on some taste research?

     

    Did you notice that there are three Swiggy brands advertising on IPL? Swiggy Instamart, which claims quick grocery delivery, Swiggy match day mania which is about large orders at a discount and then just Swiggy. All the three brands have done a good job in communicating their benefits. Swiggy has a simple though of “Aap kiske saath dekhoge” which is very IPL-centric and have carried that thought into both Instamart as well as match day mania very well. My favourite of course is the Instamart ad of the young kid bawling about her empty cereal box as the father is watching the IPL. Quick delivery saves the day for him and therefore when he is asked at the office “kal match kiske saath dekha” he answers with a satisfied look “Shanti ke saath”. Smart.

     

    I started off about the unusual performances in the IPL. But then I discovered that a most unusual thing has also occurred on the IPL ad scene. If my memory serves me right, it’s the first time since the launch of Jio that no Jio ads have been aired on IPL. Yet. No plethora of stars, no tacky execution, no Bollywood-style jhatkas. Sometimes we should thank our respective Gods for small mercies. Amen to that.

     

     

  • Dream big is also following a classical strategy of thematic and tactical ads, writes Vikas Mehta in his weekly review of ads aired around IPL 2022

    Dhoni abandons his ‘Dream’?!

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaSo, it’s been a very usual and unusual IPL so far. Usual, because Mumbai Indians (MI) have lost the first two matches. But the MI captain Rohit Sharma felt it was business as usual in his post-match interview. Unusual, as Chennai Super Kings have also lost the first three matches on a trot, albeit after years. Unusual also for CSK as Dhoni, after relinquishing his captaincy seems to have taken it back and is also scoring runs as in his heydays.

     

    And as usual, Dream 11 continues its dream run at IPL. The idea of “Dream Big” has seen many new frontiers. The series of various players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Patel reminiscing their struggles but not giving up on their big dream has two new creatives so far. One, with Pant and the other with Sharma. And this time, they pay tribute to some behind the scene people like the groundsman or even a stranger helping Pant at a gurudwara. The thought of one is never alone if one’s big dreams fits seamlessly into the Dream Big theme of Dream 11. Whew! Too many dreams here.

     

    https://youtu.be/3JazfubLOgI

     

    Dream big is also following a classical strategy of thematic and tactical ads. For the uninitiated, when advertising was the be-all and end-all of all communications, brand ads were created for brand equity, may be once a year, extolling the virtues of a brand and its personality. These were called thematic ads. Interspersed through the year were tactical ads which by nature would drive sales. These were by nature about inducements or sale pointers. Personally, I think this was more of a jargon-spitting marketer’s delight, as for the end-consumer. every communication is a message and she or he does not delve into it with a separate compartment of thematic and tactical in her or his mind. The ads with Dhawan, the Pandya brothers, Ashwin and even Pant in a metro asking people to try the Dream 11 seems to be in the genre of the tactical ads of yore.

     

    https://youtu.be/Dn7ixMGB_dM

     

    But one dream seems to be missing from Dream 11. Dhoni has disappeared from all communications and has now appeared for Winzo. Another gaming app. Winzo is not about a fantasy league. It’s about skill and social gaming and I presume it’s clear of any controversy related to “gambling” as Dream 11 is. Maybe that’s why Dhoni moved away from Dream 11. In the ad, Dhoni cheekily starts by saying that he is called gamechanger so he is changing his game from today. Very unusual but typically clever from Dhoni.

     

    Quite unusually, I am seeing Byju’s ads without Shah Rukh Khan. And these are good. Emphasising on understanding the concept rather than memorising for an exam. ‘Samjho seekho jeeto’ encapsulates the idea well. As a parent, these resonate with me more than the Shah Rukh ads which seemed more gimmicky. I also think Shah Rukh’s personality does not gel with that of Byju’s and made the brand more flippant.

     

    There has been a lot of buzz about the new Spotify ads. I like them because they amplify the generation gap between Gen Z and the millennials as also Gen X. While Gen X and the millennials are passionate about politics or shopping offline or any discussion and are more social, GenZ is more reclusive and more digitally social. So, Spotify is their ‘kavach’ or protective armour from these indulgences of the older generations. Unusual, yet simple.

     

    I also think that the Meesho ads capture a similar trait of Gen Z. The features of photo search or free delivery are neither new nor unique but they capture the essence of Gen Z. While millennials or Gen X prefer offline shopping and want to see all options, Gen Z is not only used to online but also wants trendy or happening products. So, these features serve them well.

     

    Does Aamir Khan have a triple role in his next film? The series of Netmed ads make me think so. Or, wait! Was it Pharmeasy? Or 1mg? At least Pankaj Tripathi was not about triple or double role. Not only are the names confusing but so are the generic benefits. From a consumer perspective, when I fall sick, I need medicines, fast. Not in a day or in a few hours, but in minutes. So, except for long-term medications like for diabetes or cholesterol, I am not sure how these medicine aggregators can help. What do the investors and these start-ups know that we don’t?

     

     

    And just when I was about to sign off, I saw two similar ads from PepsiCo company. For Pepsi and for Slice. It seems the company has taken competitive stance as a corporate paradigm. But then what’s the fun if unusual things don’t happen. More on the two ads next week.

     

     

    Vikas Mehta, a senior advertising professional, is now a strategy consultant and educator based in Dehradun. He has a considered, often contrarian view that we enjoy consuming (and contesting) on most things around him: cinema, cricket, advertising, politics and life in general. AdsOnIPL is a series of reviews of the ads aired around IPL programming. The column is in its second season. His views here are personal.

     

     

  • Vikas Mehta is back with his weekly reviews of #AdsOnIPL as the 10-team, 74-match league took off last weekend

    Unusual is the new normal in IPL 2022

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaIt’s been an unusual 2022 so far. For Indian cricket. India lost a Test series in South Africa after an unusual first Test victory. Then we also lost the ODI series with an unusual 0-3 scoreline. Sri Lanka toured India after an unusually long interval and got beaten soundly. That I must confess was as usual. The women’s cricket team was unusually dumped out of the World Cup. But the most unusual thing has been that the IPL is happening in India and that too in front of some crowds. And the one constant or the usual is that I am back with my weekly column looking at the new ads released during IPL.

     

    The first weekend has as usual resulted in Mumbai Indians losing their first match. And many new ads. As usual, most of them have been predictable, boring and ordinary. So rather than draw up a list of all such ads and pan them, which I usually do, I thought of doing something unusual. Let me look at one brand which has through the last two-three editions of IPL produced some memorable advertising and indeed been unusual in its approach.

    Cred is a unicorn which has gained much more traction than any other new brand. With a reported revenue of around Rs 95 crore, the brand has reported a loss of about Rs 425 crore. Before you start saying that’s also unusual, let me point out that it is not, as most new age tech companies have a similar financial model. But what’s unusual about Cred is that a big chunk of its expense is towards traditional advertising. Which is not unusual as Cred has a clear grasp on its TG. Cred is talking to the credit card owners, and there are around 50 million credit cards issued in India. Most of these are the high net worth or the salaried senior management millennial. And these millennials have seen India changing in front of them. For them, India changed from Mother India to Miss World, India changed from we to I and India changed from a problem of few choices to a problem of plenty. And of course, India changed from Madhuri Dixit, Kumar Sanu, Bappi Lahiri to a new influencer every day.

    So, the nostalgia of a yesteryear superstar caught on. Then came the nostalgia of some cricketing icons. The people who were fierce competitors but gentlemen in spirit. To unleash their hidden beast was almost like a what if situation. Imagine if Dravid was not unflappable or Srinath and Prasad were actually part of a boy band. And now comes the third stage of nostalgia for the same millennials. Old iconic ads being remembered with a twist. Nostalgia has been Cred’s secret success sauce and it has hit the nail on the head with the TG.

     

    So enough of my pontificating. Did you notice the unusual Kamla Pasand ads? Why unusual? Because last year AB had very solemnly declared that he did not realise that the brand was doing surrogate advertising for a gutka or pan masala which is not good for health and now that he has been informed of the same, he is withdrawing from the campaign and returning the money to the company. I guess his cheque was postdated. For after eternity. Or is it the case of an unusual publicity stunt?

     

    And did you see the Harsha Bhogle being tortured after being kidnapped ad for some Fantasy Akhada game? The ads have a “to be continued” at the end. I am not sure who is being tortured here. Harsha or us? Incidentally, the brand did try a PR stunt. It seems Harsha was being interviewed live from home on some digital channel when he disappeared with some audio of his alluding as if he has been surprised by intruders. It did go viral with lot of fans expressing concern. Harsha finally apologised for the stunt. Going viral by hook or crook, be it the KP way or the Harsha way is not unusual now. Hey, I meant Kamla Pasand not the political discourse you have been following.

     

    It also looks like that a new Aamir Khan film is on its way. His usual PR machinery is on an overdrive with quite forgettable ads for PharmEasy and Vedantu.

     

    I will of course have no comment on the unusual Jaguar bath plus light ad which featured fully clad people in living rooms sitting on a toilet or taking a shower. Please, let’s get back to some usual ads.

     

    Vikas Mehta, a senior advertising professional, is now a strategy consultant and educator based in Dehradun. He has a considered, often contrarian view that we enjoy consuming (and contesting) on most things around him: cinema, cricket, advertising, politics and life in general. His views here are personal.

     

  • And how a simple ad campaign has once again shown the power of advertising, writes Vikas Mehta

    We must thank Rahul Bajaj for the resurrection of advertising

     

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaIn today’s age of data and empirical evidence, classical advertising is losing its relevance. Not everyone is convinced about the role of traditional advertising. The number of likes, shares, retweets, enquiries is all that matters. Talking about emotional connect only just does not make sense.

     

    The power of communication, specifically advertising, was never better illustrated than now, after the passing away of Rahul Bajaj on Saturday. All posts, messages and some memes too talked about the iconic ‘Hamara Bajaj’ campaign in the same breath as Rahul Bajaj. It’s seems as if the man had ruled the two wheeler industry because of Hamara Bajaj. It seems the enormous success the brand was accorded was all due to Hamara Bajaj. It seems that Hamara Bajaj was the embodiment of Rahul Bajaj. Nationalist, outspoken and proud Indian businessman.

     

    Nothing can be further away from the truth.

     

    Rahul Bajaj
    Rahul Bajaj

    Bajaj became the dominant two-wheeler player in India for decades because of the ‘licence raj’. It was the government prerogative to decide how much production capacity even private players could have in India. Demand be damned. Some bureaucrats would decide the India needed to produce only x number of scooters. So if someone was doing that (read Bajaj), where was the need for more players? It suited Bajaj. They need not invest in R&D because the consumer had no choice. They needn’t have expanded because not only did the government not allow it but by creating an unmet demand, a huge black market was created for Bajaj scooters. Bajaj dealers were rolling in cash and so was, one suspects the company.

     

    So, Rahul Bajaj, in the guise of nationalism was against liberalisation. He had openly declared war on liberalisation policies by forming an informal Bombay club of businessmen who felt threatened by  competition due to liberalisation.

     

    And the arrival of Hero Honda seemed like the death knell for Bajaj. It was Rajiv, his son, who shrewdly bailed his company out. He first discontinued scooters, the product on which Bajaj was built and then invested heavily in R&D. Some collaborations like with Kawasaki, to gain time, was the first indicator of the direction that Rajiv sought.

     

    And of course Hamara Bajaj, a simple advertising campaign, gave a temporary respite to the beleaguered scooters. Actually it was not as much nationalistic as it was about India rising. For a scooter brand which had thrived on protectionism, to cash in the liberalised India sentiment was as ironic as it could get.

     

    And it gave space to Rajiv and his team to get into a hitherto, niche 175-200cc motorbike segment.

     

    It was actually not a resurrection. What came out of the ashes of the now tainted scooter legacy was Pulsar. It is public knowledge that Rahul disagreed with Rajiv on discontinuing scooters. To give credit to the man, he allowed Rajiv a free hand. But when Pulsar was born and Bajaj as a brand seemed to have been relegated into the background, Rahul did put his foot down. It was not to be Pulsar but Bajaj Pulsar.

     

    The last 48 hours seem to have vindicated traditional advertising. In spite of all the facts above, every newspaper – English or vernacular, every social media commentator on Facebook or LinkedIn was trying a play of words with Hamara Bajaj. So, while we pay our tribute to the departed, let’s not forget what made the man pass into folklore was a simple advertising campaign which has transcended time, and which has once again shown the power of advertising.

     

    Vikas Mehta is a senior advertising and marketing services professional and educator based in Dehradun. He writes off and on for MxMIndia. His views here are personal

     

  • This IPL saw a lot of established players disappoint, as did the ads from established brands, writes Vikas Mehta in a wrap of AdsonIPL2021

    IPL Cricket & Ads: The Parallels

    Screengrab from Disney+Hotstar website (https://www.hotstar.com/)

     

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Vikas MehtaI write this review while watching the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL). For me, the tournament and the players had lot of parallels with the ads that were on the air. Let’s dive into these.

     

    This tournament saw a revival in fortunes of established teams like Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). As well as some old stars like Uthapa and Du Plessis. Advertisements which ran in the first edition of this IPL and were then forgotten saw a revival in this extended edition of IPL. Finolex, Phone Pe, Unacademy, Dream 11, Mutual funds….

     

    This IPL saw a lot of established players disappoint. Rohit Sharma, the Pandya brothers, Rahul Chahar, Hazelwood, Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Rabada… all disappointed. Similarly ads from established brands like Coke, Thums Up, Ceat, Berger Paints, Sprite… disappointed. Eminently forgettable performances.

     

    In the league stage, Delhi Capitals dominated the tournament by winning 10 out of their 14 games. Similarly edtech as a category dominated the ad scene. Byju’s, Byju’s Adarsh, Byju’s Whitehat Jr, Lido small group tuitions, Unacademy, UpGrad, Great Learning etc showed the potential and dominance of the category.

     

    For M S Dhoni there was double success. While his contribution to CSK lifting the trophy was not all that significant, his single-handed contribution of appearing in most number of ads was unmatched. Homelane, Dream 11, ITC Yipee, Mutual Funds sahi hai, Indigo paints all benefitted with the free time he has since his retirement. I won’t be surprised to see him soon in some ed tech ad too.

     

    The last few matches of the tournament saw a new campaign by Dream 11. Captioned Dream Big, the campaign I thought was a standout. Using different players, they used a different narrative for each under the Dream Big Umbrella. It’s interesting storytelling and flexible format was excellent. I liked almost all the ads, with Hardik Pandya, Dhawan and Bumrah being my favourites. A standout performance almost like the performance of K Rahul and Harshal Patel who stood tall amongst the batsmen and bowlers respectively.

     

    Venkatesh Iyer was the star new kid on the block. He played aggressively and even had a good differentiation because he can roll over his arm effectively. The Oven Story ad was a good parallel here. A seemingly new entrant, at least as an IPL advertiser, the brand had interesting differentiation in the Pizza category and created a good enough impact for my daughter to order for it.

     

    While the performer of the tournament was a difficult choice between Gaikwad, Iyer and Patel,  for me the best ad performance came from Neeraj Chopra in the Cred ad. He blended well into the narrative and looked as natural as he does on the athletic field. But the new Cred ad featuring Kapil Dev on the last day was a total disappointment. It did not have the energy and joie de vivre that all the other Cred ads have had. It looked like the opening ceremony of most IPL tournaments. Too much pomp. Very little narrative.

     

    But overall the ads were very tepid. The use of celebrities dominated the scene. Dhoni, Ranveer Singh, Kohli, Bumrah etc were omnipresent. The narrative though was predictable and in most cases just relying on star power. Frankly, the second half of IPL was similar. With just two-three games going to the wire, the one-sided final was a reflection of how most of the games panned out.

     

    The parallels continued right till the end. There was a lot of speculation about Dhoni’s retirement from IPL as a player. And the suspense continued even in the post-match interview. Will he retire or continue?  Exactly the same thing happened with the Kamla Pasand surrogate ad of Amitabh Bachchan. With a holier-than-thou attitude, he made a grand statement of withdrawing from the ad and returning money for the ad as he did not know it was a surrogate ad. He obviously does not live on earth. But like Dhoni, the ad was not retired, even five days after AB’s statement. It was there in the finals too. What did disappear, albeit briefly were SRK Byju’s ads. But blink and they were back. All the twitter brouhaha lasted for just a few days.

     

    There was one area where the parallels ended. CSK proved that old is gold. A team led by a 40-year-old with many players above 30 and retired from all other types of cricket, the team did well to win the tournament. The same, of course, cannot be said of the old traditional brands which have ceded ground to new category and brands and have been totally eclipsed. Let’s hope these new categories and brands do create new benchmarks in their advertising too. The next edition of IPL will tell us if that comes true. Till then au revoir, sayonara, alvida, tata.

     

  • The airline industry is a heady mix of adventure, glamour and travel for an outsider. But its core is simple, writes Vikas Mehta

    PoV by Vikas Mehta: Tata and Air India branding conundrum

    Vikas MehtaBy Vikas Mehta

     

    Now that the dust has settled on the Air India acquisition, let’s look at what the future holds for the airline objectively. With three brands in its wings, how can the Tata group leverage the strengths of the brands and of course it’s other partners like Singapore Airlines and Air Asia.

     

    The airline industry is a heady mix of adventure, glamour and travel for an outsider. But its core is simple. Quick and reliable transport over longer distances. Two things are important here. Reliable and longer distance. Let’s look at these.

     

    Longer distance is a comparative measure. Most domestic flights in India are less than two hours flying time. Many Middle East distances are slightly more than that. For paying customers two, two-and-a-half-hour flights have a simple reliability connotation. On-time performance, clean hygienic aircrafts and sufficient baggage allowance. Leg space, food, entertainment, seat recline etc do not really matter for such shorter flights. Therefore, they will not be too happy paying a premium for such amenities. Long distance flights on the other hand make such amenities a must. Customers are willing to pay more for the same. And let’s not forget Indian flyers are notoriously price sensitive.

     

    What this means is that the domestic offering of Air India needs to be in line with that of Indigo. No frills, no freebies. A basic product. In fact the value equation should be to give less for less. Less amenities for less price. The Air Asia model.

     

    On the other hand, the international routes, bar a few, Air India needs to have a more premium product. More comfortable seats, better recline, better leg space, more food choice, entertainment are some of the immediate things that come to mind. More amenities for more price. The Vistara model.

     

    That is the reason why I ultimately see Air India running two brands. Air India per se which will merge with Air Asia and will run as the domestic carrier with services within 2-21/2 hour flying time including outside India. No business class, no premium economy. Just basic economy class.

     

    On the international routes, Air India should be running as Vistara. Anyways, the reputation of Air India internationally is at a low, so to build a new premium brand will be a sensible strategy. The current version of Vistara with some slight tweaks can help the beleaguered brand which currently is operating with an incorrect offering for the domestic market, but has an opportunistic offering for an international market.

     

    The real question for Air India to answer is about what will make it competitive. On domestic sector, I think there is enough scope for a me-too brand like Indigo. Currently there is not much serious competition to Indigo. SpiceJet struggles on parameters like on time and it’s route width. GoFirst is too small. A me-too strong competitor with competitive pricing can be a good beginning for Air India domestically. As a customer, I frankly find any low-priced airlines since the price of Indigo, Spice Jet, GoAir, Air Asia and Air India are almost at the same level. Except for some discounts offered, I suspect on a few seats, by all of them from time to time, I don’t find any high cost or low-cost carriers in India. It’s all the same cost.

     

    What needs to be done, is also a fleet rationalisation. The single aisle narrow body aircrafts should be all transferred to the domestic Air India and Vistara should have the wide-bodied, long haul aircrafts. What will help Air India is that most of its single aisle narrow body aircrafts are Airbus and the wide-bodied long haul are Boeing. The only anomaly are the Air India Express 737 Boeings. Vistara too has mainly the Airbus single aisle narrow body aircrafts and that could be transferred to Air India and it’s wide body long haul Boeings can be retained. It would need to lease/buy new wide-bodied Boeing in the immediate future to take advantage of its international slots.

     

    Air Asia, as a group, is in disarray and it may not be difficult for Tatas to buy out the Indian operation. The experience of the team running Air Asia India will come in handy. The big challenge for Tatas would be how to handle SIA. Vistara will be in direct competition with SIA and would SIA want to remain invested in Vistara will be the big question.

     

    The privatisation of Air India is just a small first step in what promises to be interesting times in the Indian, nee, global aviation circles.

     

     

  • A good many of them are old repeats, some from the time when the IPL was abandoned in April, and the new ones are mostly tepid, writes Vikas Mehta

    Vikas Mehta on AdsonIPL21: Soft drinks category ads disappoint during IPL

    Vikas MehtaBy Vikas Mehta

     

    As the IPL reaches the play off stage, the excitement has mounted about the final qualifiers and who will be the Top 2 teams as they get two shots at the final. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the ads on display during the IPL broadcast.

     

    A good many of them are old repeats, some from the time when the IPL was abandoned in April, and the new ones are mostly tepid. Safe, using celebrities, repetitive, cliched. In a world where we are inundated with breaking news, competitive attitude, new product concepts, innovative use of technology, advertising is still stuck in the mire of preachy messages which fail to communicate. Just talk down to.

     

    Take the example of the soft drinks category. Three brands which have in the past done some remarkable work, have showcased new campaigns during the IPL which are a pale shadow of themselves. Sprite specially was a disappointment. Looked like a Friday dressing ad by Allen Solly. A Friday drink? Thums Up has continued with its toofan wahi jo sab palat de thought, using Bumrah. But the execution is so predictable and tepid. For me though, the biggest disappointment was Coke. At a time when Coca-Cola globally has released an interesting “we are one coke away from each other” campaign based on gaming with a metaphor for world peace, the Coke India ad “Khud ko jaga, ek thandaa laga” was a literal interpretation of overcoming sloth. It seems to be regressive given the  classic tea brand “Jaago Re” campaign done almost a decade ago.

     

    Whitehat Jr definitely is trying to establish some credibility by using Sonam Wangchuk. But for me it’s the credibility of Wangchuk that has taken a hit. An education reformer, endorsing six-year-olds to enrol for extra coaching? Doesn’t sound right. But the surprise was the book a free music class ad with Lucky Ali. Is Whitehat Junior getting out of its coding niche? And using Lucky Ali seems to be continuing with the Cred tradition of using “forgotten stars”.

     

    From a pure marketing communication viewpoint, I did find the Oven Story ads intriguing. After a long time, someone is trying something new in the Pizza category. Less crust and more toppings claim was a good beginning but being able to order half pizzas is interesting. One may say that small pizzas are always an option but Oven Story which has been around for sometime, has definitely gained visibility with Semizza.

     

    In the past I always admired the Amazon Great Indian Sale ads for they used interesting Indian insights. My favourite being the “free dhaniya” one. But now not only are they eminently forgettable but also invisible. What a let down! In contrast, the Flipkart Big Billion day ads featuring Amitabh, Virat etc with the “poora India karega flip” thought has at least a semblance of an idea.

     

    It’s not just the quality of thinking and storytelling which is a let down during the IPL but even the quality of execution which is quite disastrous. My daughter pointed out that in one of the Homelane ads featuring Dhoni, one can see the head of someone standing behind the TV and also  hands at the bottom, one throwing objects for the protagonist to catch (purpotedly being thrown by Dhoni from the screen)!!!

     

    Let’s just hope that the last week of IPL produces not just exciting cricket but equally interesting ads. After all the shraddh period ended yesterday and consumer buying festival season is now officially on.

     

  • Dhoni is here, there and everywhere on the IPL coverage on television, writes Vikas Mehta in his weekly review on ads around IPL 2021

    Vikas Mehta | AdsonIPL21: AI, PJ, Dhoni & an underwear brand

    Vikas MehtaBy Vikas Mehta

     

    For a few seconds I wondered if I was watching the Dhoni You Tube channel. The break between overs had a Dhoni Dream 11 ad, followed by Dhoni Yippee noodles followed by Dhoni Homelane ad. I don’t think it was a coincidence as I remember seeing such Dhoni breaks at least twice this week. And at the last count, Dhoni in IPL was endorsing CSK, Yippee, Homelane, Dream 11, Mutual Funds sahi hai, Indigo Paints amongst others with some having multiple executions. For me, with the exception of Dream 11, rest were Dhoni ads rather than a specific brand ad. I am still trying to figure out the Homelane ads. Maybe they are being different for the sake of being different.  But Dhoni surely is raking it in. Maybe with the other cricketers caught in various bubbles, and Dhoni having retired from all cricket except IPL, most advertisers are flocking to Dhoni.

     

    And then I wonder why advertisers use Ranveer Singh. Most of his ads are Ranveer Singh ads. His persona with his dress sense and hairdo is not just stand out but makes it very difficult for any brand to come out of the shadows of Ranveer. A classic case in example is the ColgateMax fresh ad. The presence of Ranvir, doing what he does best, dressing outlandishly and doing some energetic dance moves, totally dominates the brand. And I am not talking about any other brand but Brand Colgate. To me, it was all about dentist endorsement, parents worrying about child’s dental health and dollops of cavity fighter science thrown in. That was till Ranveer stepped into this sterile world.

     

    The question to be asked also is the case of brand personality. What is Colgate’s personality? If it was a person, who would it be? Ranveer or a serious dentist who knows his science? Contrast the MaxFresh ad with the Colgate smile campaign. Are the two the same personality? Is the personal relationship between the two ads and the consumer, same? Indeed, are the target segments for MaxFresh, Cavity Fighter & Smile the same? Will the real Mr Colgate stand up?

     

    Last week, I had spoken about the shraadh effect on ads. This time, I think the Dassera effect is on. What else explains the various paints ads? At last count, there were ads for JSW Paints, Asian Paints, Indigo Paints, Berger Paints. Painting is very symbolic to the cleaning we do at homes during Dassera and Diwali. But the surfeit of paint ads were all very average. No one stood out. None was having any connect.

     

    There is no doubt that automobiles category is one of the most difficult to communicate with differentiation. MG Hector since it’s launch has been trying to appropriate technological features to build a consumer connect. And I had thought I had seen it all. But to use AI to crack a PJ to make the girlfriend (or was it the wife) smile, was something I never expected. But then we do live in unpredictable times. For me, it outdid even the Macho sports underwear ad. Now you see the link. That says it all for me this week.

     

  • In the first season of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, Vikas Mehta reviewed the various ads around the IPL coverage. Mostly on television, some on digital and once in a while if there’s something exciting in print, radio or outdoor. Here’s the first instalment on the ads around Part 2 of IPL 2021.

    AdsonIPL21: Shraadh Effect on New Ads?

    In the first season of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, we invited Vikas Mehta, senior marketing strategist and educator and a former adperson, to review the various ads around the IPL coverage. Mostly on television, some on digital and once in a while if there’s something exciting in print, radio or outdoor. Here’s the first instalment on the ads around Part 2 of IPL 2021. Read on…

     

    Vikas Mehta

    By Vikas Mehta

     

    Okay, the IPL has resumed. So, let’s have a refresher course on where we had left IPL at? Do you remember which team was topping the table? I don’t because my favourite team wasn’t. Who was the leading wicket-taker? I bet you don’t. It was Avesh Khan. Fine. Which team does he belong to? Stumped again?

     

    But then when I saw the ads I did not need any refresher course. For most of the ads were the same old ads which we saw almost six months ago. Dream 11, Phone Pe, Unacademy, Mutual Funds, Finolex Pipes, Acko Insurance… it looked like I was watching reruns of the March edition of IPL. Not helped by the fact that Mumbai Indians lost their first match again and Punjab had yet another opening century partnership between Mayank and Rahul and yet another loss to go with it. Maybe, as my very astute wife reminded me, this is shraadh time and since some/many Indians do not make new purchases in the period, our advertisers do not launch new ads in this period.

     

    But one category has definitely dominated and it has some new ads too. It seems there is definitely a charge of the edtech brigade. Not only new ads from Byju’s, Upgrad and Whitehat Jr but new advertisers like Lido Group tuitions, Great Learning. Not to forget the rerun of Unacademy ads. Even though schools and colleges are gradually opening up online education is booming.

     

    I particularly liked the UpGrad ones. An ex-batchmate becoming your boss because she has upskilled herself. Nice thought. It looks like a series because I saw a second one with the same cast and looks like the three batchmates are going to be around for some time. The Lido Group tuitions is a good marketing initiative though I cannot say the same about the advertisement. Shah Rukh Khan is back to liven up Byju’s. And from what I understood Byju’s is now providing two teachers. Really? As if the pressure of one teacher was not good enough.

     

    But frankly I have not understood using people like Shah Rukh Khan plugging education. What is Shahrukh’s educational qualifications? Do parents go by his recommendations? Does star power influence education decisions too?

     

    So, if Bollywood star power can work why not cricket star power? Mr Kohli has also made an appearance for a brand called Great Learning. It seems to be a competitor to Upgrad. Is it a coincidence that this campaign release on IPL has been timed with his giving up the T20 captaincy. Or is he already looking for a career beyond cricket and therefore preparing to acquire some new skills?

     

    Talking of cricketers, it’s been some time since one saw a cricketer in a cola ad. I wondered if the current crop of cricketers have been inspired by Kohli who did not want to endorse an unhealthy product (his words, not mine). Bumrah proved me wrong. He appears for Thums Up in the continuation of their “palat de” theme. It picks up from the Olympics and Paralympics ads, but frankly it is too predictable and does not have the hit-in-the-gut effect like the Paralympic ad. If I ain’t wrong, this was Bumrah’s first major campaign. No, please, do not mention anything about the Jio ads.

     

    And to end this piece another refresher. Who is the anchor of the Cred ads? We have seen him in the past few ads but do you remember his name? And talking about Cred, did you realise that it’s Neeraj Chopra himself in all those roles in the new Cred ad. I must admit I did not recognise him. I guess winning an Olympic gold also is no match to a cricketer’s screen power in India. And neither to a Bollywood star’s. Maybe that sums up Byju’s and Shah Rukh.